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An American couple have launched a class action lawsuit against Amazon for selling them what they claim were defective eclipse sunglasses, leaving them with damaged eyesight.

Corey Payne and Kayla Harris say they have suffered blurred vision and a central blind spot after using the glasses to watch the total solar eclipse on 21 August.

Amazon recalled the glasses 11 days earlier, but in their court filing the couple say they were unaware of the warnings which they described as "tragically too little, too late".

Amazon declined to comment on the case which was filed in South Carolina federal court this week.

Mr Payne and his fiancee were among the millions who watched last month’s eclipse, the first total eclipse to spread from coast to coast across America.

In their filing, the couple say they knew the dangers of looking directly at the Sun and made sure they only did so while wearing what they believed to be protective lenses.

“Later that day, both plaintiffs began to experience pain and discomfort, headaches, eye watering and other symptoms,” reads their complaint.

“Thereafter, both plaintiffs began to see dark spots in their line of vision, suffered vision impairment, including blurriness, a central blind spot, increased sensitivity, changes in perception of colour, and distorted vision.”

They go on to point out that the glasses were sold in packs of three or 20, so many users would not have received the warning email from Amazon.

The pair are asking Amazon to pay the medical costs of monitoring users' eyes to detect the early signs of damage, if any.

Nasa and the American Astronomical Society advised eclipse watchers to only use spectacles carrying the international safety symbol ISO 12312-2. That means their lenses are manufactured to block 100,000 more light than ordinary sunglasses.

At the time, Amazon said it had double-checked its suppliers “out of an abundance of caution.”

In subsequent emails to affected customer, it did not identify the suspect brands but said: “Amazon has not received confirmation from the supplier of your order that they sourced the item from a recommended manufacturer. We recommend that you DO NOT use this product to view the sun or the eclipse.”